Proposed ordinance would make development more cost-effective

SHELLEY – Growing demand for large lots has the city looking for different subdivision layouts and designs to save developers money.

If a devoloper wants to build a single-family home residential subdivision, under Shelley ordinances, they must provide a 62 foot wide street with curb, gutter and a five-foot sidewalk on each side. The developer also needs to provide critical infrastructure such as water, sewer, electrical and other utilities.

Cortney Liddiard at Ball Ventures said the cost of this type of development for a home with a quarter-acre lot costs around $49,000 to construct.  The problem is, such lots only sell between $50,000 and $55,000.  Based on these costs, there is no incentive to develop a subdivision. The developer would also need to construct the homes instead of allowing individual home builders to purchase the lots and do it themselves.

Derek Dye, a local developer, said people are more inclined to purchase significantly larger lots outside of the city for the same $48,000 to $55,000 price charged within city limits.

However, building outside of city limits, the homeowner would have to pay for their own well and septic system. Which can cost the individual upwards of $20,000 or more.

Sandy Gaydusek, Shelley City Clerk, said the problem with developing larger lots is the increased cost to build such lots to city standards.

For example, several years ago, the cost of installing a sewer line was $30-35 per foot.  Today, it is $75 per foot. 

Gaydusek explained that when the length of the property along the street gets too big, the cost of installing the street and other infrastructure becomes cost prohibitive.

To accommodate larger lots, Justin Johnson, Shelley Public Work’s Director, said, “the city’s new ordinance would allow for a 32-foot wide street with a 2.5-foot roll-up curb.†

Then, there would be a 4-foot wide strip between the sidewalk and curb.

“We would eliminate the larger-sized street, the curb, and gutter because of its extra cost towards an oversized lot,” Johnson said.

He said developers would build lots with a new type of sewer line.

“Instead of a traditional 8-inch PVC, gravity-flow sewer line with man-holes, a pressurized line from each home would transport sewage to a point where it dumps into a standard transit line or lift station,” Johnson said.

The cost of this type of line is significantly less than the price of a gravity-flow line. 

“The city would also require fewer street lights in a larger-lot subdivision,†Guydusek said. 

Currently, street lights are required every 300 feet.  In the new development, the city would only require lights at intersections. 

Both the city and the county want this new type of development.

Shelley Mayor Stacey Pascoe said there is too much urban sprawl occurring in northern Bingham County. He hopes this new type of development would help eliminate that.

There are a number of subdivisions in the planning stages outside city limits:  A 110-lot subdivision on the property east of River Bend Estates along the north side of 1260 North, west of Shelley.  A 35-lot subdivision at the southeast corner of New Sweden Highway and County Line Road. And finally, a 75-lot subdivision with 1-acre lots east of Shelley along the west of 900 East and south of the Taylor Highway.

Gaydusek said this development is what spurred the city to look into changing its ordinance.